ABSTRACT
Atovaquone (566C80 or 2-[trans-4-(4′-chlorophenyl)cyclohexyl]-3-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone; Figure 182.1) is a hydroxynaphthoquinone antiprotozoal agent. It was a product of research carried out at the Wellcome Research Laboratories in the 1980s that sought to exploit differences in respiratory chain-linked electron transport between plasmodial and mammalian cells (Hudson, 1984, 1988). This work was a continuation of studies on the potential anti-malarial effects of naphthoquinones, which, stimulated by shortages in the supply of quinine during World War II (Fieser et al., 1948), had started some 50 years earlier but lost impetus with the development and deployment of chloroquine. The subsequent development of chloroquine resistance among malarial strains gave impetus to the search for alternative agents. Chemical structure of atovaquone. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315152110/08d8042d-9481-4a8d-8c27-9bd589f6de6b/content/fig182_1.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
